Forster pips ?royalty? for award

TOOWOOMBA'S Noel Forster has beaten the "royalty of squash" in being named the inaugural national winner of the sport's Coach of the Year award.

At a gala Squash Australia presentation evening in Brisbane at the weekend, Forster received the country's top coaching gong, while another Toowoomba product Rachael Grinham was named Senior Athlete of the Year.

"I was pretty honoured by the award," Forster said.

And an indication of the prestige of the award can be gauged by the calibre of the nominees that Forster pipped to receive the crystal decanter.

"I was up against the royalty of squash in Australia," Forster said. "There were people like Geoff Hunt and Michelle Martin."

Hunt is regarded as Australia's greatest male squash player having won four world titles and eight British Open crowns, while Martin, also a former world champion, coached Australia to victory at last year's World Women's Team championships.

Both Hunt and Martin were among seven of Australia's greatest squash players to be inducted into the Australian Squash Hall of Fame at the weekend.

But Forster believes his recognition was also a win for not only squash, but sport in general, in regional Australia. "I think the award shows that you don't have to be in the big cities to achieve," Forster said.

"People can still be involved in the regional country areas and do the job just as well." Forster is one of three Queenslanders on a 12-man national coaching panel.

"We are responsible for the coaching policies, levels and guidelines," Forster said. "We are the people who do all the elite coaching and the talent squads."

Forster, who has had 40 years' involvement with the sport, has twice taken Australian junior teams on tours of the United Kingdom and last year took the national side to Malaysia.

"I would like to get a Commonwealth or Olympic Games team, but while not an impossibility it is a bit difficult," Forster said.